EIA in the water industry

6th March 2012


Janet Langsford and Hannah Kirkham, from MWH, discuss how environmental impact assessment (EIA) is used in the water sector

Water and sewerage projects vary widely in scope and value, but often have some form of environmental benefit as a driver and are sometimes the subject of EIA. The Town and Country Planning (EIA) Regulations 2011, which came into force in August 2011, has introduced changes which may affect a significant number of such projects.

Water industry projects and the planning system

As statutory undertakers, water companies benefit from significant permitted development rights, which enable them to undertake essential maintenance and deal with common below-ground developments. However, with respect to larger or more complex projects, the need for EIAs can arise.

The most common schemes to require EIAs are extensions to existing sewage treatment works, cross-country pipelines for both water supply and sewage treatment, and works involving reservoirs. Other developments that often need EIAs are those that involve innovative technologies, such as advanced digestion plants which use biogas resulting from the digestion of sewage sludge as part of combined heat-and-power systems to generate electricity for on-site use. This technology is becoming more popular with water companies as they seek financial efficiencies as well as environmental benefits.

Along with numerous other types of project on the threshold of Sch.2, it is important to local planning authorities that water companies identify and minimise potential environmental impacts, and much baseline data may need to be collected in the hope of demonstrating no significant effects at the EIA screening stage. For example, for the refurbishment of an urban sewage treatment works in the south of England, the local planning authority requested:

  • a landscape and visual impact assessment, including photomontages;
  • a daylight and overshadowing study;
  • a TV reception study;
  • a traffic statement;
  • a noise assessment;
  • a land quality assessment;
  • an arboricultural survey;
  • landscaping proposals;
  • a flood-risk assessment;
  • a construction environmental management plan; and
  • a detailed odour assessment.

Environmental good practice

Even for projects which are not likely to have significant environmental effects, water companies use effective methods of managing the environmental impacts of their capital projects. A typical approach is to screen projects against comprehensive environmental criteria at an early stage of design, to characterise the development and forecast the likely requirements of consultees, both statutory and non-statutory.

These are essentially mini EIAs, which start at desk-study level and are revisited as the project develops, eventually forming the basis of contract documents and construction environment management plans.

Environmental screening benefits all stakeholders, including the design team, the water company, statutory consultees and the general public. Clear environmental background information from these reports helps engineers to better account for the environment in their designs, which gives confidence to the business and external stakeholders that a solution is robust. It also minimises the risk of re-work, by reducing uncertainty and addressing potential environmental impacts at an early stage.

Potential future changes

As mentioned earlier, projects in the water industry range from small-scale works such as upgrades and maintenance of existing assets that fall below the EIA Regulations threshold, to large projects with need for detailed EIA. However, the 2011 EIA Regulations have increased the potential for more of the smaller projects to require an EIA, due to changes in how extensions to existing installations are treated.

In accordance with Sch.2(13) (changes and extensions), where extensions to existing works are now proposed, the entire development (existing plus extension) must be considered for EIA screening purposes, where previously only the new extensions needed to be considered. This is most likely to affect refurbishments and upgrades to existing sewage treatment works.

In summary

Water companies occasionally embark on projects which require EIA as part of their investment programmes. These projects vary widely and can be contentious, but water and sewerage investment programmes often have environmental drivers at their heart.

While water companies benefit from extensive permitted development rights, and there is a preference to steer projects towards this type of development rather than EIA, in our experience, water companies take a proactive approach to environmental management of projects through screening exercises. This approach allows them to identify the project requirements at an early stage, which then subsequently informs further design and the construction phase.

With the recent update to the EIA Regulations, water companies may need to undertake EIAs more often, as extensions and refurbishments to existing sewage treatment works are likely to come under the EIA threshold.


This article was written as a contribution to the EIA Quality Mark’s commitment to improving EIA practice.

Janet Langsford is a principal environmental planner ([email protected]) and Hannah Kirkham is an environmental scientist ([email protected]), both work at MWH UK.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

IEMA Impact: Shaping a sustainable future with impact assessment

Lisa Pool on how IEMA is shaping a sustainable future with impact assessment

27th November 2023

Read more

IEMA responded in September to the UK government’s consultation on the details of the operational reforms it is looking to make to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) consenting process as put forward in the NSIP reform action plan (February 2023).

24th November 2023

Read more

Members of IEMA’s Impact Assessment Network Steering Group have published the 17th edition of the Impact Assessment Outlook Journal, which provides a series of thought pieces on the policy and practice of habitats regulations assessment (HRA).

26th September 2023

Read more

In July, we published the long-awaited update and replacement of one of IEMA’s first published impact assessment guidance documents from 1993, Guidelines for the Environmental Assessment of Road Traffic.

1st August 2023

Read more

Are we losing sight of its intended purpose and what does the future hold for EIA? Jo Beech, Tiziana Bartolini and Jessamy Funnell report.

15th June 2023

Read more

Luke Barrows and Alfie Byron-Grange look at the barriers to adoption of digital environmental impacts assessments

1st June 2023

Read more

Susan Evans and Helen North consider how Environmental Statements can be more accessible and understandable

1st June 2023

Read more

IEMA’s Impact Assessment Network is updating its advice note on non-technical summaries (NTS).

31st May 2023

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close